United Kingdom – Stonehenge

2013 November —–

Whenever we go to London to visit my son, we like to do a side trip or two. This time, we went to Stonehenge and Bath. We also took in Madame Butterfly at the Coliseum.

I had never been to Stonehenge before. We looked into taking the train to Salisbury then simply finding our way to Stonehenge, then over to Bath. However, a single one-way train ticket to Salisbury was more than a Premium Tours bus to both places. We opted for the bus tour.  We made it to the Victoria Coach Station and caught our bus to Stonehenge. It was raining most of the way, and although the guide pointed out several points of interest while exiting London, it was difficult to see much of anything.

When we got closer to Stonehenge, the guide said that we would be approaching via the “new road”. Apparently, there is a brand new interpretive center being built about 1 or 2 km from the site and in the next few weeks all tourists must pass through the interpretive center and spend more tourist pounds before proceeding to the actual site. Fortunately for us, the center was not yet operational and we were only rerouted. Just as we were approaching, the guide said that the stones would be visible just over the next rise as we made our way to this new road. I was fortunate to grab my camera and snap one off, that turned out quite well, if I do say so myself.

We were told to be back on the bus in 45 minutes. Then we herded through the gates, handed an audio guide and proceeded to the Stonehenge site. It was still raining lightly. Although the stones are massive, I always imagined them even bigger than they actually are. Nonetheless, it is a very impressive site. I wonder what the Romans thought when they came across this site, sitting naked on a grassy plain? I managed to get a few good pictures, but did not have time to listen to the entire audio guide before having to head back to the bus. Guided tours never give you enough time. I am still glad I got see this world famous prehistoric monument.

I must comment on Audio Guides: ALWAYS GET THEM! They are filled with bits of information that you cannot find anywhere else, even Wikipedia. I wish they would publish them over the Internet so one could listen prior to going, and definitely after coming home.